Yesterday I was listening to a radio talk show as I ran some errands around town. The host told of a story he was just mortified by. A parent blogger, Bob Elston, published a post in October called, "My 11-year old son's first trip to Hooter's". After a ball game, Mr. Elston took his son to Hooter's to eat lunch and while there, to gauge the boy's reaction to the waitresses in their shorts and tank tops. After blogging about the experience, which was also published in USA Today, he has been inundated with a large number of responses, many of them negative. Apparently people are all fired up over this and I don't know why. Really, you would think the guy took his son to a brothel or a strip club for a lap dance, when it was only a meal at a restaurant.
I have to comment on this one because what is the big deal, anyway? (no pun intended). For pete's sake, my kids went to Hooter's with their dad and I on vacation last year. We were starving and it sounded good. We had a nice time, ate a tasty meal and left. Our waitress was very nice, but we didn't ogle her or pay any more attention than we might have at another restaurant. In fact, there were many other families dining there that night as well.
While there are a number of things I find offensive or worrisome about our world today, eating at Hooter's -with or without your kids- is not one of them. There are so many more important issues to be concerned with. Again, this dad did not take his son to a brothel or a strip club. It was a restaurant that people of all ages enjoy.
Mr. Elston has received criticism about what a terrible, unethical parent with no morals he must be just because of his restaurant choice and a post about it. Although we are all entitled to our opinion, doesn't this seem to be taking things too far? I hardly think a trip to Hooter's is bad parenting, as some people seem to believe. If you don't care for the place, for whatever reason, then don't go there. But don't berate a guy for his choice to do so. Save the harsh words for bigger battles, because there are plenty of them out there.
